Kathakali dance-drama is like a vast and deep ocean. Some may come to a performance with their hands cupped and only be able to take away what doesn’t slip through their fingers. Others may come with a small vessel, and may be able to drink that:;: And still others may come with a huge cooking pot and take away much more.

By V.R. Prabhodachnadra Nair quoted in “Kathakali: The Art of the Non-Worldly”, p.1